Alpha Beta Imprint: Chapter Two

Disclaimer: I am not Stephanie Meyer. I do not own Twilight.

Chapter Two

Bella’s POV

I watched as Sam and Jake walked into the woods together, both of them looking over their shoulders at me.

“We’ll be right back, Bells,” Jake called just before they disappeared.

I was extremely confused as to what was going on. In the past two days, two different men have made my stomach flop, my heart race, my brain turn off, and my insides tingle. I was beginning to worry that maybe coming back to Forks wasn’t such a great idea. What if all the men did this to me? I was becoming a harlot!

Sinking into the bench seat on the side of the garage, I wonder if I should wait for the boys to come back or take off running without a second glance. Staying could prove dangerous to my well-being, but something inside of me rebelled at the thought of running away.

I heard the creak of the back door and Billy’s voice calling out.

“Bella? You out there, honey?”

Sighing, I stand up and walked out of the garage, smiling as I see Billy in the doorway.

“Yeah. Jake just ran off with Sam. He said they’d be right back, but I was just debating on waiting for them or not,” I admitted.

“I’m sure they’ll be back soon. Jake’s been eager to see you for a while and I know Sam has developed a fondness for you already,” Billy winked.

I felt my signature blush stain my cheeks as I looked down at my feet.

“Why don’t you come on inside and sit with me while they do whatever it is they’re doing,” Billy suggested, wheeling himself back.

“Okay. Thanks, Billy,” I smiled shyly, following him into the house.

“No problem, kiddo. Make yourself at home,” Billy waved off, taking his place in front of the TV.

I continued to smile as I took a seat on the couch, recognizing the familiar scene from my own house. I had no doubt that, if Charlie wasn’t working, he would be sitting in front of his own TV, watching the Mariners’ game, arguing with the officials and reporters.

I settled into the couch, figuring Jake and Sam would probably be a little longer than Billy expected. I was laughing at the outrage Billy was showing to the umpires calls when the back door banged open.

“Bella?” Jake called, his voice sounding a little worried.

“In here, Jake,” I answered, removing my feet from the couch.

He and Sam came into view at the same time, sending my heart into overdrive as I took in the masculine beauty standing before me.

Neither one of them was wearing a shirt, showcasing muscles that people paid millions of dollars for. Both of them had short hair, closely cut to the head, but not exactly shaved. Jake had a few strands falling onto his forehead and Sam’s hair was sticking up slightly from, I assumed, fingers running through it. They had their feet spread apart as if they were on the offense, stalking their prey. I had the distinct feeling that I was the prey in this scenario.

I had to swallow a few times before I was able to open my mouth and speak.

“You’re, uh, dad suggested I wait inside for you guys,” I told them.

“You boys just left her high and dry. I figured she’d like the company,” Billy shrugged, his eyes laughing.

“I’m sorry, Bella. Sam and I just needed to go over a few… tribal details,” Jake explained.

“Oh. Should I leave so you can continue?” I offered, moving to stand.

“NO!” Sam and Jake shouted at the same time.

My eyes were wide as I looked at their nearly panicked expressions and I slowly sank back down to the couch. They seemed to realize what they’d done because they both relaxed and gave me apologetic looks. Jake moved to sit beside me on the couch, picking up my hand in his. A jolt of awareness shot through my arm and straight to my stomach, making it clench. A hazy feeling settled over me and I struggle to listen to what Jake was saying.

“Sorry, honey. It’s just, I haven’t seen you in so long,” Jake sighed.

“Besides, we’ve finished discussing the tribe. I actually suggested to Jake that we take you down to First Beach. It wouldn’t be too crowded and we need to talk to you about a few things,” Sam coaxed.

“I guess so,” I agreed slowly.

“Great! Let’s go then,” Jake grinned, jumping up and pulling me with him.

Sam stared at our joined hands for a while before shaking his head sharply and leading us outside. I was reluctant to let go of Jake’s hand, enjoying the connection, but I felt guilty that Sam seemed to be left out. Without really thinking about what I was doing, I reached up and took his hand in my free one, linking the three of us together.

The same jolt that had shaken me when I’d touched Jake seemed to double now that I was touching both of them. I couldn’t hold back the gasp that escaped at the sensation of touching both men at once. I felt my head getting dizzy and struggled to remain walking.

“Easy, Bells. Don’t worry, honey. We’ll explain it all in a minute,” Jake soothed while Sam stroked the back of my hand with his thumb.

Little sparks of electricity continued to shoot down my arm with each brush of his calloused finger making my head spin more. Somehow I was able to make it to First Beach, with a little help from Jake and Sam that is.

The two boys scouted out a spot for us to sit and talk, finally decided on a huge washed up piece of driftwood. They allowed me to sit first before taking their place on either side of me.

“Okay, Bells. Before we start, I want you to keep an open mind about all of this. I know it’ll probably sound crazy and you may not believe it at first, but Sam and I will always be here. We won’t let anything happen to you, no matter what you decide,” Jake assured me, clasping one of my hands in his.

I nodded, showing I understood. I was a little worried about what exactly they were going to tell me, but I trusted them both, despite the fact that I’d only known Sam a day and Jacob I hadn’t seen in years.

“A couple years ago, a new family moved into Forks. They were different than everyone else. Their skin was pale, exceptionally so. They all had golden eyes that seemed to change shades almost constantly. And they were all viewed as beautiful by the humans,” Sam started.

I noticed the use of the word human and wondered what he was getting at.

“They weren’t human, Bella. They were immortal, incredibly fast, cold as ice, and drank the blood of animals,” Sam continued.

Frowning, I easily put the pieces together.

“Are you telling me there was a family of vampires living in Forks?” I asked, worried about their mental being.

Jake and Sam shared a look over my head before Sam looked back down at me and nodded once.

“That’s ridiculous,” I scoffed, moving to stand.

“Wait! Just… let him finish, Bells. Please? We’ll prove it to you later, but please. Just listen,” Jake pleaded, holding tight to my hand.

Grudgingly, I took my seat back in-between the two men, pulling my knees to my chest and giving Sam my undivided attention. He gave me a long look, his expression blank, before beginning again.

“It was not the first time vampires had come into our land. The first time had been many years ago, in the time of Taha Aki. He was not the first spirit warrior, but he is the one we know the most about. He was gifted by our great ancestors to protect the tribe against the Cold Ones. The animal spirit of our brother wolf inhabited his body and the two became one. The gene has been passed down through many generations. Direct descendants will go through the phasing process whenever the tribe is in danger and the Cold Ones are near,” Sam explained.

“So, not only are there vampires, but werewolves, too?” I questioned, seriously doubting their mental stability.

“Yes. Jacob and I are two of the spirit warriors. There are many others in our pack. We are the largest to phase yet and the first to have a female werewolf,” Sam told me, his expression darkening at the mention of the female.

I stared at him in silence for a long time, trying to absorb everything. I was secretly wondering if I should run away, screaming at the top of my lungs. Did Billy know his son was crazy? Should I call the government to come take care of all the psychotic Native Americans running around in La Push? Maybe, but all I could do was sit and stare at the gorgeous man in front of me.

“Would you like to see us, Bella?” Jake asked, bringing my attention to him.

It might give me time to escape.

I nodded, trying to appear eager, as though I believed them.

Sam and Jake stood and walked a few feet away, to the nearby woods. Once they were out of sight, I stood on shaky legs and started walking away.

Before I’d made it very far, there was a tug on the back of my shirt. I turned around to tell them off, prepared to fight to the death if necessary…

And screamed!

Two wolves stood behind me, each taller than a horse and just as large. The closest one to me was completely black and he had my shirt still held between his teeth, holding me in place. The other was a beautiful russet color and was wagging his tail at me, his tongue lolling out.

I was breathing heavily as I looked between the two wolves, more than a little freaked out at what I was seeing. Could this really be Sam and Jake?

Hesitantly, I reached out my hand, threading my fingers through the black one’s fur. His eyes closed and a growling sound came from his chest. I jerked back in surprise, but he pushed forward, keeping my hand in his fur. I realized then that the growling was a happy sound and began twisting his fur around my fingers.

“How is this possible?” I whispered, looking between the two wolves.

The russet wolf came forward, his tail still wagging as he sat beside me. I petted his fur with my free hand, giggling when he began growling as well. Simultaneously, the two wolves leaned down and licked my cheeks.

“EW! Gross!” I cried, jumping away from them.

The two wolves barked out a laugh and began dancing around me, encircling me. I smiled at their antics, amazed at what I was witnessing. A few more bounds around me and they took off into the trees, returning seconds later, human once again.

I ran up to both of them, grinning widely.

“That was amazing!” I cried.

“We told you,” Jake grinned, lifting me into his arms and swinging me around once.

“I can’t believe it. You actually turn into giant wolves!” I laughed.

“Yes, but we still have one more thing to tell you,” Sam smiled softly, transforming his whole face.

“What is it?” I asked, still grinning like a fool.

“When we phase for the first time, our wolf instantly begins searching for its mate. Once we find out mate, we know instantly. Everything that ties us to this world disappears and the only thing that matters is her. It’s called imprinting,” Sam explained.

I felt my happiness slipping away as he spoke, wondering who these two men would imprint on, if they hadn’t already. Why would they tell me all this? I was confused on so many levels and wasn’t sure what to think about it all.

“Bells? Honey, we both imprinted. On you,” Jake said quietly.

My heart skipped a beat only to pick back up in double time. I was gaping at the two men in front of me, confused about what exactly they were saying.

“What?” I gasped.

“We imprinted on you. Sam last night and me this morning. It’s the first time there has ever been two wolves with one imprint. We’re not exactly sure why it happened, but neither one of us wants to change it. We already love you, honey,” Jake smiled.

“You love me? How is that possible? I haven’t seen you in years and I just met Sam last night!” I yelled, close to having a nervous breakdown.

“I know it’s a lot to take in, sweetheart, but it’s true. You don’t have to love us back. In fact, if you’d prefer, we all just be friends. We’ll be whatever you need us to be, Bella. This is all about you,” Sam assured me, his rough voice soothing over my nerves.

“I think I need some time to process this,” I decided, staring at the sand.

“Of course. Take all the time you need,” Jake encouraged.

“And if you happen to see one of us outside in our wolf form, don’t panic. We need to be close to you, but we will respect you wishes of space. The imprint won’t allow us to be too far away, though,” Sam added.

“Oh. Okay. What happens if you’re not near me?” I asked, a little worried.

“It’s… very painful. And if we go too long without being near you, we could get very ill. Don’t worry though, patrolling around your house will be enough until you come to a decision,” Sam assured me.

“Okay. I, uh, I guess I’ll see you guys around,” I nodded, standing up from the drift wood.

I had walked a few feet when they called me back.

“Bella?”

“Yeah?” I asked, turning my head.

They were both standing, Sam had his hands behind his back and Jake had his shoved in his pockets. I smiled slightly at the two of them, so similar and so different at the same time.

“If you come to a decision sooner than you thought you would, call us, please?” Jake requested, his eyes somewhat pained.

“I will,” I promised quietly before turning around and continuing towards my truck.

Sam’s POV

Jake and I watched as she stumbled her way across the sand, heading back towards Jake’s house. A part of me longed to go after her, to make sure she was safe. Another part of me knew she wouldn’t appreciate the gesture and it was best to just stay put.

“What do you say we go talk to my dad about this? Hopefully he’ll have some answers as to why we’ve both imprinted on her,” Jake suggested, taking my mind off my no-longer-visible imprint.

“Sure,” I sighed, following behind him.

“I think she took it pretty well,” Jake said as we walked.

“Really? Then why is she running away from us?” I asked bitterly.

“Because we just told her we turn into giant wolves and she’s our soul mate. Come on, Sam. You have to admit, it’s a lot to take in. Bells is a good girl. I’m sure she’s never even considered being with one guy, let alone two,” Jake chuckled.

“I wish I knew her well enough to be sure,” I frowned, kicking a rock out of my way.

“You will. Trust me, Bella won’t stay away long. If we give her tonight to think things over, she’ll be back in La Push tomorrow morning, ready to talk it all out,” Jake assured me.

“I hope you’re right,” I mumbled as we walked into his house.

“Hey, boys. Where’s Bella?” Billy asked, turning away from the TV.

“She went home. Dad, we’ve got something to ask you,” Jake said, sitting on the couch.

I took the empty armchair, nervous about what Billy was going to tell us.

“What’s that?” Billy asked, muting the television.

“Is it possible for two wolves to imprint on the same girl?” Jake asked, getting straight to the point.

Billy stared at Jake for a while, turned his gaze on me, and then back to Jake. His eyes were wide in surprise and I was briefly concerned that the old man was going to have a heart attack on us.

“I’ve never heard of such an occurrence before. Why?” Billy asked, folding his hands together.

“I imprinted on Bella this morning,” Jake answered.

Billy’s eyes got even wider, if that was possible. His eyes kept going between me and Jake, sweat forming on his brow.

“You mean to tell me that the two of you have the same imprint? That’s impossible! The imprinting process was designed to find a wolf his soul mate. There can’t be two soul mates for one girl,” Billy argued.

“Sorry to burst your bubble, Billy, but it’s true. We’ve both seen it in each other’s mind. We both imprinted on Bella,” I disagreed.

“I thought imprinting was all about carrying on the wolf gene. If that’s the case, Sam and I have the strongest gene. Doesn’t it kind of make sense that we’d have the same imprint, creating the most dominant wolves?” Jake questioned.

“No. It would be better if the two of you had different imprints. Then your children could imprint on one another, creating stronger wolves. This is completely unnatural,” Billy frowned.

I couldn’t help but growl at Billy’s blatant disrespect to our mate. I didn’t care that he was an Elder and Jake’s dad. If he didn’t watch what he said about Bella, I couldn’t be held responsible for my actions.

“Don’t talk about her like that, Dad. I won’t stand for you bad-mouthing our imprint,” Jake threatened.

“I’m sorry, Jake. You know I love Bella like another daughter. I’m just worried about what this all means. Maybe we should call a council meeting. We might be able to find something if everyone searches,” Billy suggested.

“Good idea. Will you set it up?” I asked, still a little upset at his slander against our mate.

“Of course. I’ll let you know when we decide to come together,” Billy agreed.

“Great. I’m going to round up the pack. We need to include Bella’s house on our patrol schedule and I need to call the leech leader about including her house into the treaty,” I decided.

Jake nodded in agreement, already standing up.

“I’ll phase and head to your place. Jared and Brady are patrolling, right?” Jake asked, moving to the back door.

“Yes. Tell them to finish whatever round they’re on and come to the house,” I instructed.

“Got it!” Jake called as the door closed behind him.

I made my way to the front door, knowing I needed to call the rest of the pack.

“Sam,” Billy stopped me.

“Yes?” I asked, still a little miffed.

“Just promise me you two will take care of her. She’s all Charlie’s got now,” Billy requested.

“I would die before I allowed anything to happen to her,” I promised him.

Billy nodded, appeased at my vow. Turning around, I continued out the door and made my way to my house.

It was dark when I walked inside since I hadn’t bothered to keep any lights on when I left. It’s not like I needed them. I could see just as well in the dark as I could in the light.

Walking through the house, I flipped on all the lights, reminders coming to life with each flick of my wrist. I knew I’d have to remove them soon. If Bella ever came by, I didn’t want her to see the pictures and small touches that indicated a woman had been here before her. She was the only one that mattered now.

Still, I knew there was no way I’d be able to throw it all away. She’d been such a huge part of my life and it was too painful to just get rid of her stuff as if she’d never been here.

I wondered what Bella would bring into my house if she were to ever move in here. I smiled as I pictured her working in the kitchen, laughing in the living room, dancing down the hallway, sleeping between Jake and I in the bedroom. It all felt so real, so close, that I ached for it. I knew it would be hard having her here, replacing the old, but it would be necessary to help me move on.

Stroking one of the picture frames, I sighed as she smiled back at me, her brown eyes filled with laughter.

Emily.

Jake’s POV

I had rounded up the entire pack, knowing Sam would probably forget as soon as he walked through his front door. He tried not to spend too much time in the place. It held too many memories for him.

I was the first one there. The pack knew not to arrive for a little while yet. Sam always needed time after coming home to cool off. I hoped that Bella would be able to help him let go.

It had been over three years since Emily had walked out. She and Sam had been together for years, everyone assuming they would get married.

Then the phasing started. Sam was the first one.

The first time Emily saw him phase, she got too close. She had three scars down the side of her face. Sam had lived with the guilt for six months. He’d tried everything to make it right. All his savings had been spent on the best doctors, providing her with everything she could have wanted.

It hadn’t been enough. One day, Sam woke up to find the house quiet and Emily gone. He’d searched for three months before finally returning home, defeated. Nothing anyone did could bring him out of his misery.

Until Bella.

Today, Sam had actually smiled. It was the first time I’d had seen it since before the accident with Emily.

His playfulness towards Bella in his wolf form had shocked me more than anything else. It’s as if my dad had suddenly stood up, naked, and done the hula. Sam had never gotten so close to a human in his wolf form before, afraid of hurting them the way he’d hurt Emily.

Bella had already made huge inroads into Sam’s emotional issues. I only hoped she would continue to do so.

I stopped in front of Sam’s door, nervous about what was on the other side.

Knocking once, I didn’t wait for the answer before walking in. Sam was standing in the hallway, his fingers hovering over a picture of Emily. He didn’t acknowledge my presence as I moved to stand beside him.

“I should probably take this stuff down,” Sam murmured, still touching the picture.

“Why?” I asked, hoping to keep him talking.

“Bella shouldn’t have to see this,” Sam sighed, dropping his hand.

“I don’t think she’d want you to take them down unless you were ready. Bella’s a pretty amazing person, Sam. I know I haven’t seen her in a few years, but just from seeing her today, I can tell she hasn’t changed,” I assured him.

Sam continued to stare at Emily’s picture, his shoulders slumped forward.

“I don’t expect her to come back, not after all this time. And, even if she did, I have Bella now. I can’t even comprehend ever going back to Emily is she did come back,” Sam admitted.

“That doesn’t make you a bad person, Sam. It’s a good thing that Bella came into the picture. It’s time for you to move on. Bella was given to us both for a reason. I don’t know what that reason is, but she’s ours. And I have no doubt that she’ll be able to help you move on,” I told him.

“I want to be better for her, but… I’m worried. Emily couldn’t handle the wolf. What if Bella can’t either?” Sam questioned, leaning his forehead against the wall.

“Like I said, Bella was given to us for a reason. If she wasn’t capable of handling the wolf, we wouldn’t have imprinted on her. Did you see the way she reacted when we phased? She was excited. She already loves the wolf in us. And she’ll grow to love us, too. You have to have faith in her, Sam. She’s not Emily,” I insisted.

“I know, I know,” Sam whispered, his eyes closed.

“Come on, then. I can hear the pack outside. It’s time to get this meeting underway,” I encouraged.

“You’re right. Let’s go tell them to news,” Sam nodded, standing tall.

As I followed Sam into the living room, I knew Bella would be good for him, for us. Sam and I were brothers in every sense of the word, but blood. I knew there would likely be problems with us sharing our imprint, but we were made to have the same imprint. We would be just as good for her as she was for us, I had no doubt.

Grinning like a fool as I thought about our imprint, I walked into the living room, ready to tell the pack.